speaking for yourself

Once bitten, twice shy.  or is it, get back on the horse as soon as possible....?  the point is, we are all responsible not only for ourselves, but for the meanings we make, the meanings we take, the meanings we choose amongst all the other meanings out there. Our experiences and expectations and attitudes frame our view, our reality, our weltanschaung. It is easy to mumble platitudes about only speaking for yourself and not speaking for others: but when we react to the words or actions or even perceived intentions of others, without checking out with the other person what their perceptions are - we make a massive assumption and possibly destroy the cloth upon which we all sit. Our reactions say most about our own history, attitude and perspective: very little about anyone else. What is it we fear?  what is it YOU fear?  go on - take a moment.  what is it you fear? (do you DARE, to pause and let a fear into this comfy little niche of space?)

let it nip your heel.  - just a nip.

what we fear is different from what anyone else fears; even if just a little.  We have reasons for why we fear certain things.  solid, valid, and experience-based reasons.  and because our experiences are different from other people - we react differently to events, whether positive and negative. 

what is the WORST word you know?  go on. is it or was it the same for your parent/uncle or aunt/ grandparent/youngest acquaintance?  certainly not - and yet, ANY of our worst words will cause similar howls of protest or revulsion for any or all of us.  the emotions are very very overlapping, the triggers are not. we are different people, who have different meanings for everything we do, see/hear and perceive.  even sitting side by side - our experiences are DIFFERENT.  speak for yourself, think for yourself - yea yea yea.  but perceive for yourself and interpret for yourself as well.  do not project onto others, the meaning you created out of an event. that is the same as speaking for them; more subtle perhaps, but of the same spectrum.

we are truly alone; that is the curse of incarnation.  but when it is over, we are together with souls and energy and glorious resonance more than we incarnated beings can hope to perceive.  both are more complete existences than we like to consider; but both existences, both conditions, both aspects of ourselves are part of our contract with the Oversoul, and need to be recognised and welcomed into the hearth, and given a warm bowl of soup.